Secrets
by Jesus.Lives
Summary: This is a Miles/Naomi based and inspired by GuitarHeroLost's Unknown Tales of the Freighter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N. **_This is entirely for GuitarHeroLost for getting me into this ship. Miles is a character awesome beyond words and it would be cool if they'd kept Naomi around._

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**Secrets**

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"So what's your secret?" His breath was hot on the back of her neck. She didn't look up, glasses perched on her nose over-viewing schematics of the Kahana.

"I'm working." She bit back, flipping through pages of technical equipment.

"Everyone on this freighter has something they're keeping to themselves. I figure you for maybe an ex-assassin or maybe just an ex-inmate."

"I'm just someone with the difficult task of leading you on and off the island with minimal casualties." She sighed but didn't turn to look into his eyes. Miles Straume had crazy eyes. Not crazy like Daniel Faraday and his obsessive pacing with both brows creased. More crazy like he could snap at any time and Naomi was in the situation where she would have to control any such behavior. It was times like this that she hated her job.

"Upper management" Miles repeated what he had heard about her earlier.

"Upper management" she confirmed, tight-lipped. It didn't need to come out who she was working for, what the group knew about Abaddon was enough.

"So then you keep too many secrets."

"We have many files - Miles Straume" she paused, but didn't need to recall his details, "Spiritualist and most likely to cheat, steal or lie himself into what he wants."

"I see my reputation proceeds me..." - another smirk to show he didn't take the assessment seriously.

Naomi took off her glasses, reached below her rocky table and handed Miles a stack of files.

"These are the Oceanic 815 passengers." Miles sounded almost surprised as he saw some of the details on the labels.

"Nothing is a secret here."

Miles thumbed through the first file. Kate Austin. Wanted for murder. Other details he was sure not even her mother knew.

"Night time reading. Thought it might get you away from the rest of the crew. Frank seems to think you're a real pain in the ass."

Miles grinned at this, he was amused at what people thought of him, though in reality it was the last of his concerns. "So the deal with flight 815 is?" He crouched beside her and looked her over. Her hair fell over her face and she brushed it aside efficiently.

"Precaution. Hostiles. We cover all foreseeable avenues."

"So that's your secret."

"What?" she snapped, not meaning it to come out like that.

"Paranoia." He smirked, hoping he was getting to her as much as it looked and got up. "OK Upper Management. Guessing you file isn't in here."

She didn't indicate anything to him, he shrugged and went to leave. Naomi heaved a word under her breath. "Bai Chi" she muttered in Mandarin.

Miles stopped. "What?" he snapped at her, his expression changing to annoyed in the instant it took him to get from her table to the doorway.

"I know your secret."

"Enlighten me." He hovered.

Naomi turned to him. "You think you're here to do your own job." She stood up. Almost intimidatingly until she cracked a smile.

"That's sad." He indicated to her, "Someone who's entire agenda is their bosses' will."

"We have a job to do Miles."

Miles shrugged and hung onto the doorway. "You can keep your secret for all I care. I have my own questions I need answered."

Naomi hoped he wasn't going to be trouble, Matthew Abaddon had better make this worth her while. The only secrets she would tolerate were the ones that she was keeping for the sake of her job. Nobody else had secrets that weren't known by upper management - at least that's how Naomi liked to think of it.

She smiled as she went back to the schematics. Frank was right - he was a pain in the ass... but a welcome distraction all the same. He was wrong about her. She had her own agenda for getting to the island after all. And she just hoped that Abaddon was right and the Oceanic 815 survivors were not there or going to cause trouble.

Sometimes she didn't get what was wrong with her employers. They could have chosen better people for this mission. Those more competent. Those with the same training as her. But eventually she would be surprised at the competency of the team - even if she wasn't around to express it.

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**Man! Writing them is hard with the lack of information about their agenda. Kudos to you GuitarHeroLost for making it work! **


	2. Chapter 2

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**A/N.** _I was encouraged to continue, so here we are._

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**Secrets**

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Miles sat muttering to himself, or someone else, the way he usually did. Naomi watched him carefully as the freighter rocked in it's familiar manner. Miles hid his behavior well when he wanted to, yet again unlike Faraday who didn't seem concerned with the rest of the universe, forever in his own mind. Miles was very aware. Perhaps too aware with everything around them. He felt things she didn't. He knew things she didn't. And still he was her responsibility just like the rest of the crew.

Charlotte was a capeable woman that could handle herself... to a degree. But Miles was one that could handle the mission more. He was tougher. Had less scruples to work through.

Naomi decided to finally make her presence official, although she was sure he'd already felt her there. The alive had to have a stronger presence than the dead especially out in the middle of the ocean. "Have you brushed up on the files?"

His neck snapped towards her. "Yeah." His expression remained placid. "Good reading."

"Information is power" she commented dryly and leaned against the railings of the back of the frieghter.

"Can never be too careful right?"

She didn't know if he was mocking her. She smiled, a little cautiously. "Yeah. You can never be too careful."

"Someone should be keeping an eye on the 'head-case' Faraday. Don't think he's ever used a gun before."

"You could always help him."

Miles screwed up his nose. It was apparent this idea disgusted him for some reason. "Yeah, I'll think about doing that"  
he responded in a way that said he had no intention of thinking about it, in a way that he found it amusing that she would suggest such a thing.

"We need a team player Miles."

"If you needed a team player then I wouldn't be here." He knew why he was there. There was no tricking him. He could do the job they needed... and that job was not to be a team player or whatever Naomi wanted to call it.

There was a long silence. Naomi figured she may as well get her plan out there. "I'm going in early."

"What?" Miles turned to look at her again instead of the rolling waves in front of him.

"To the island. To check it for habitants."

"Isn't that my job?" His jaw was clenched and his expression became hard to read.

"Alive habitants. Natives."

"Team player huh?" Now she could read his expression. He didn't look impressed with her.

"It's my job to lead."

"That's fine. Take over. We'll all sit on the freighter and wait for you." Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"It's my call to make." She seemed to like to rub that in. She was the boss. Leader of the pack. Miles tried to cover his annoyance with nonchalance. He rarely had more than those those expressions: annoyance when things weren't going to his plan and nonchalance in a cocky sort of manner that came off as seeing himself as better than everyone else.

Neither were appealing attributes to boast to, though he was still personable enough and she supposed that's why she bothered coaching him on the mission - despite the fact it was her job and no one else was qualified to handle him.

She turned around and Miles stood, she pivoted off the railing. "OK, Miles Straume. I have work to do."

He shook his head. "You have dinner to get." He was seriously peeved at how much work Naomi convinced herself to keep doing. He grabbed her arm rather roughly.

"I've already eaten" she protested.

"And I hardly care" he responded as he forced her to the tiny kitchen on the freighter which not surprisingly enough was in the same direction as the infirmary.

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**It was easier to write a second chapter than the first - perhaps because I rewatched some Miles scenes from 4x02.**

**  
Love Miles. He's such a no nonsense guy. And I love it when Faraday says that Miles would probably kill him for putting away the gun. Lol. Yay Miles! (I have been watching WAY too much Dora the Explorer).**

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End file.
